Arizona: Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Because I was doing my countdown, I missed sharing the day trip we took to Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. We had been there once before, but more as a scouting trip. This time, we headed to the Palm Canyon entrance, thanks to an article by Arizona Highways magazine.

The drive

The moment you turn off of Arizona 95, it’s gravel road. High clearance vehicles are recommended. Drive approximately 3.3 miles to where you can make a choice: turn left onto Queen Canyon Road or go straight on Palm Canyon Road.

We initially followed the route laid out in the article, and turned left onto Queen Canyon Road. This is the more “high clearance required” area of the drive. We captured video of this drive, but have not processed it yet. Definitely some serious dips and bouncing around, even in 4wd.

We got to a point where we weren’t sure if it was legal to go on, so we turned back around and headed to Palm Canyon Road.

Palm Canyon Road

Palm Canyon Road ends at a parking area. Walk .5 mile to go to the canyon where the Arizona native palm trees grow, but make sure you wear your hiking boots and have walking poles. This trail is seriously rocky. I went down a portion of the trail, but wasn’t really prepared to do the entire trail. Bringing water is also advised.

Photos

Looking at Palm Canyon from the back of the trail.
Capturing the blue sky with foliage.
If you look closely to the right of the rock, you can see the trail. Hiking boots are definitely recommended.
Looking at Palm Canyon on the left side.
Palm Canyon with the blue skies.
Blue skies looking towards the Palm Canyon parking lot.

But wait, there’s more! There are three other entrances to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, so we will check those out later in January, after our trip to Lake Havasu City.

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